Howard Stern may or may not be hurting ‘Americas Got Talent’

Howard Stern may or may not be hurting ‘Americas Got Talent’

The show plunged to 10 million total viewers for the season premiere, down more than 30% from last year. I think Howard Stern will make the show better in many ways, but that has nothing to do with ratings. If we evaluate the decision to hire him purely as a business decision, it doesn't seem like a smart move. It doesn't seem possible that the number of additional people who will watch because of him could possibly be greater than the number of former viewers who will stop watching because of him. I like Howard, but that's not going to get me to watch that crap, particularly since I know he will have a muzzle on for network TV. People who like Howard Stern will know that the Howard Stern on that show won't be the same guy as the uncensored Howard Stern that they like. It'll just be a guy who looks and sounds like him. Placing Howard on a network show eliminates everything that makes him cool in the first place. So why would his fans bother with this, unless they already happen to be fans of the show?